Contractor cries out over court judgment

Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — The Managing Director of Macobarb International Limited, Mr. Shedrack Ogboru, has cried out over the judgment of the Port Harcourt High Court that dismissed his company’s N5.74 billion claim against Nigeria LNG Limited, NLNG, accusing the court of ignoring clear evidence of non-payment and contract breaches.

The suit marked HC/2013/CS/2022, involved a N5.74 billion claim arising from alleged contract breaches by NLNG. But on July 16, 2025, Justice Chinwendu Nwogu ruled that NLNG did nothing wrong, a decision that has sparked outrage from the contractor.

Speaking to journalists, Ogboru alleged that the ruling was fraught with “extraneous considerations” and ignored clear contractual breaches.

“Against all evidence, 49 exhibits, which showed that NLNG failed to pay as and when due, the judge ruled that the company did nothing wrong. Instead, he claimed that we, the claimants, mismanaged a loan from the bank. That loan was never an issue in court. No party raised it. Yet, the court imported it as the basis of judgment,” Ogboru said.

How It Started
Ogboru explained that Macobarb had successfully executed over 60 jobs for NLNG in the past before being upgraded to a higher category of contracts.

The disputed job was the company’s first at the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction, EPC, level, which he said was performed professionally until NLNG allegedly withheld payments.

“We reached a payment milestone of N32million. NLNG acknowledged the work but paid only N8 million in two years. That was the root of the crisis. We pleaded for arbitration, we issued dispute notices as provided in the contract, but they kept pushing us to go to court. Now we know why,” he said.

‘Ignored Evidence’
The contractor insisted that NLNG’s own records showed the company defaulted on agreed obligations, including payments for foreign-sourced components of the project.

“Exhibit YJ-40, the agreed payment schedule, clearly shows that if we paid 50% of foreign costs, NLNG was to pay 50% in local currency. We paid our 50%, they never paid theirs. Did the judge see where NLNG paid? No. Yet, he ruled they did nothing wrong,” Ogboru lamented.

He added that even an internal NLNG management resolution of July 9, 2015, instructed the company to settle Macobarb’s outstanding payments, but the directive was ignored.

Dispute Over ‘Standby Costs’
Another major point of contention was the contractor’s claim for standby costs, which Ogboru said were legitimate under the contract since NLNG allegedly kept Macobarb idle without authorizing withdrawal of equipment and staff.

“We demanded standby time cost as provided in the contract. Instead, the judge wrongly called it ‘stand-down cost’ and said it did not exist. That was the basis for denying our claim. But standby cost is a well-known contractual provision in oil and gas projects. How could he confuse that?” he queried.

Expunged Expert Evidence
Ogboru also accused Justice Nwogu of wrongly expunging the testimony of Macobarb’s forensic audit expert, who was brought to verify the company’s cost claims.

“The forensic auditor only confirmed what we computed from contract rates. NLNG never challenged the figures, never brought an alternative computation. Yet, the judge ruled the expert was an ‘interested party’ and threw out his evidence. That is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen in any court,” Ogboru said.

He stressed that professionals such as auditors are recognized by law to give expert evidence in court, and the ruling undermines the role of such professionals in complex commercial disputes.

Denial of Record of Proceedings
The Macobarb boss further alleged that the court denied his company access to the official Record of Proceedings, frustrating their preparation for appeal.

“We applied immediately after trial before final addresses, but to this moment, we have not been availed of the records. How do you appeal without it? This is a plot to frustrate us,” he claimed.

Call for Justice
Ogboru maintained that Macobarb executed the job in line with contractual obligations, but was frustrated by “insider sabotage” within NLNG and now by a judgment he described as a miscarriage of justice.

“We got the job, we got the loan, we executed the work, we delivered. But NLNG, through insider politics, refused to pay. Instead of the court addressing this, it blamed us for allegedly mismanaging a bank loan. This is not justice. We will fight this injustice,” Ogboru vowed.

The contractor said his legal team is preparing to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.